Former president of South Africa, and the country’s last head under the Apartheid regime, FW de Klerk has been hospitalised.

He was rushed to a Cape Town hospital on Friday.

“FW de Klerk was hospitalised at the Panorama Hospital with a condition known as pneumothorax – which is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall,” the FW de Klerk Foundation said in a statement.

“He underwent a successful procedure this morning and it is expected that he will be discharged from hospital some time next week.”

Grandson of another former president, Nelson Mandela, wished de Klerk a speedy recovering, saying that he paid a beautiful tribute to his late grandfather.

“His words moved many to tears and his deep regard for the Father of the Nation was evident and palpable. He described Madiba as a man of principle and an extraordinary statesman and servant of the people‚” Mandla Mandela said. “We hold him in our hearts and pray that God grants him a full and speedy recovery.”

Picture: Twitter

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Lucinda is a hard news writer who occasionally dabbles in lifestyle writing, and recent journalism graduate. She is a proud intersectional feminist, and is passionate about actively creating a world which is free of discrimination and inequality.